America’s Incredible Pizza Company joins in to help with local food drive…
“Canstruction”: Exhibit benefits local food pantries with canned sculptures of local landmarks
Behold the Clydesdales, artfully sculpted of canned goods — chili hot beans, black-eyed peas and beef broth — right down to their feathered hooves.
“How did they do that?” seemed to be the question of the day at the “Canstruction” exhibit at the Missouri History Museum, as visitors marveled at the Anheuser-Busch icons — should we say icans? — pulling a beer wagon fashioned from cans of tuna, vegetables and tomato sauce.
While Mackey Mitchell Architects get the credit for this canned version of St. Louis’ favorite draft horses, “Canstruction” also features other creative takes on local landmarks: a solidly built James S. McDonnell Planetarium by Arcturis; the St. Louis Zoo’s Zooline Railroad by McClure Engineering; a behemoth Bevo Mill by the National Association of Women in Construction; a paddle-wheeler on a river of bottles of water by the RJN Group.
Ten teams of architects, engineers and students participated in this year’s local competition of “Canstruction,” a unique national charity sponsored by the Society for Design Administration that collects canned goods for food pantries.
More than 50,000 cans will be donated this year to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and the St. Louis Area Foodbank, said Vickie Hayden, accounts manager for Randy Burkett Lighting Design Inc., who has chaired the local event for the past four years.
Hayden said local food pantries are seeing a continuing rise in need, driven by lingering unemployment. She schedules “Canstruction” in the spring when local pantries traditionally run low on supplies collected during fall and holiday food drives.
“Hunger is not about a holiday — hunger is every minute of every second of our lives,” she said.
Hayden noted that even though the architectural and engineering industry has been hard hit by the recession it hasn’t stopped firms from participating.
Her own passion for “Canstruction” is deeply personal. She was 10 years old when her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He lived for just nine months, and after his death her family was forced to seek help from local charities.
“We went from being a normal-income family to having to be on food stamps,” Hayden said. “You know how you used to live, and now you’re having to go to food pantries.”
In addition to donating canned food at the exhibit, area residents can drop off donations at local Honda dealerships, America’s Incredible Pizza Company franchises and customer centers of Charter Communications. Save A Lot Food Stores will match donations, pound per pound. For more information, go to www.canstructionstl.com .
Canstruction Exhibit
What: Favorite St. Louis landmarks constructed from canned goods by local architects, engineers and students. The annual event benefits the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and the St. Louis Area Foodbank.
Where: Missouri History Museum, Lindell and DeBaliviere, Forest Park.
When: Through April 5. The exhibit is open during regular museum hours: 10 a.m. -5 p.m. daily and from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Admission: The “Canstruction” exhibit is free. Museum visitors who bring a canned food item get $1 off admission to the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit. Participants can also vote for “Canstruction” sculptures by placing cans of food in collection barrels located next to their favorites.